A Justified Rebellion Against A Rebel Text: 1Kgs 21:1-3 I. The Farmer and the Furlough- 1Kgs 21:1 1Kgs 21:1 • Some of Jesus Christ’s parables concern vineyards. Nu 22:24; Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1 • Vineyards were associated with a settled, peaceful life. Deut 6:10-11; Neh 9:25; Ezek 28:26 • Vineyards were important for agriculture. Deut 20:6; Judg 14:5; 2Kgs 25:11-12; • Vineyards were a sign of wealth. 1Sam 22:7; 2Kgs 5:26; Eccl 2:4 • Warnings about vineyards Job 24:6; Song 2:15; Jer 12:10; II. The Inventor and the Employee- 1Kgs 21:2 III. Commerce and Consecration- 1Kgs 21:2 Lev 25:23; Deut 11:10-14; 1Sam 8:14 IV. The Servant and the Sovereign- 1Kgs 21:3 Isa 5:3-5; Ezek 34:2-3; Ezek 46:18 Get a vineyard, maintain it and if need be, die for it.

1. A Justified Rebellion Against
A Rebel
Our text gives an instance of a justifiable
insurrection against authority.
However, it is only legitimate because it is a
submission to the ultimate authority, God.
Text: 1Kgs 21:1-3
1And it came to pass after these things, that
Naboth the Jezreelite
had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel,
hard by the palace of Ahab
king of Samaria.
2And Ahab spake unto Naboth,
saying,
Give me thy vineyard,
that I may have it
for a garden of herbs,

2. because it is near unto my house:
and I will give thee for it
a better vineyard than it; or,
if it seem good to thee,
I will give thee the worth of it
in money.
3And Naboth said to Ahab,
The LORD forbid it me,
that I should give the inheritance
of my fathers
unto thee.
1Kgs 21:25
25But there was none like unto Ahab, which
did sell himself
to work wickedness
in the sight of the LORD,
whom Jezebel his wife
stirred up.

3. I. The Farmer and the Furlough- 1Kgs 21:1
1And it came to pass after these things, that
Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was
in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of
Samaria.
Why is Ahab in Jezreel when the capital
of the 10 northern tribes is in Samaria?

4. Jez're-el.
A city, situated in the plain of Jezreel, between
Gilboa and Little Hermon.

5. Jezreel is on the brow of a very steep rocky
slope of at least 100 feet, in a strong and
central position, it commands the view
towards the Jordan on the east (2Ki 9:17),
and visible from Carmel on the west (1Ki
18:46).
This was Ahab’s chief residence, containing
his "Ivory House," (1Ki 22:39) as part of
the city wall (2Ki 9:30,33).
1Kgs 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of
Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory
house which he made, and all the cities
that he built, are they not written in the
book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel?
2Kgs 9:30 And when Jehu was come
to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she
painted her face, and tired her head, and
looked out at a window.

6. 2Kgs 9:33 And he said, Throw her
down. So they threw her down: and
some of her blood was sprinkled on
the wall, and on the horses: and he trode
her under foot.
There are two springs east of the city, one 12
minutes from the town, the other 20 minutes,
known as "the spring of Jezreel.
This makes an ideal spot for a vineyard.
1Kgs 21:1
1… Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard…
In the Bible a vineyard was often surrounded by
a wall or vines, as a barrier.
God compares Israel to a vineyard.

7.  Some of Jesus Christ’s parables concern
vineyards.
Nu 22:24; Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1
 Vineyards were associated with a settled,
peaceful life.
Deut 6:10-11; Neh 9:25; Ezek 28:26
Deut 6:10-11
10 And it shall be, when the LORD thy God
shall have brought thee into the land which
he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and
goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things,
which thou filledst not, and wells digged,
which thou diggedst not, vineyards and
olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when
thou shalt have eaten and be full;

8. Neh 9:25
And they took strong cities, and a fat land,
and possessed houses full of all goods, wells
digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit
trees in abundance: so they did eat, and
were filled, and became fat, and delighted
themselves in thy great goodness.
Ezek 28:26
And they shall dwell safely therein, and
shall build houses, and plant vineyards;
yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when
I have executed judgments upon all those
that despise them round about them; and
they shall know that I am the LORD their
God.
 Vineyards were important for
agriculture.
Deut 20:6; Judg 14:5; 2Kgs 25:11-12;
Deut 20:6

9. And what man is he that hath planted a
vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let
him also go and return unto his house, lest
he die in the battle, and another man eat of
it.
Judg 14:5
Then went Samson down, and his father and
his mother, to Timnath, and came to the
vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a
young lion roared against him.
2Kgs 25:11-12
11 Now the rest of the people that were left
in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to
the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the
multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of
the guard carry away.
12 But the captain of the guard left of the
poor of the land to be vinedressers and
husbandmen.

10.  Vineyards were a sign of wealth.
1Sam 22:7; 2Kgs 5:26; Eccl 2:4
1Sam 22:7
Then Saul said unto his servants that stood
about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will
the son of Jesse give every one of you
fields and vineyards, and make you all
captains of thousands, and captains of
hundreds;
2Kgs 5:26
And he said unto him, Went not mine heart
with thee, when the man turned again from
his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to
receive money, and to receive garments,
and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep,
and oxen, and menservants, and
maidservants?
Eccl 2:4

11. I made me great works; I builded me
houses; I planted me vineyards:
 Warnings about vineyards
Job 24:6; Song 2:15; Jer 12:10;
Job 24:6
They reap every one his corn in the field:
and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
Song 2:15
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that
spoil the vines: for our vines have tender
grapes.
Jer 12:10
Many pastors have destroyed my
vineyard, they have trodden my portion
under foot, they have made my pleasant
portion a desolate wilderness.

12. II. The Inventor and the Employee- 1Kgs
21:2
2And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give
me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a
garden of herbs, because it is near unto my
house: and I will give thee for it a better
vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I
will give thee the worth of it in money.
III. Commerce and Consecration- 1Kgs 21:2
2And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give
me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden
of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I
will give thee for it a better vineyard than it;
or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the
worth of it in money.
Lev 25:23; Deut 11:10-14; 1Sam 8:14
Lev 25:23

13. The land shall not be sold for ever: for the
land is mine; for ye are strangers and
sojourners with me.
Deut 11:10-14
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to
possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from
whence ye came out, where thou sowedst
thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a
garden of herbs:
11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it,
is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh
water of the rain of heaven:
12 A land which the LORD thy God
careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God
are always upon it, from the beginning of
the year even unto the end of the year.
13 And it shall come to pass,
if ye shall hearken diligently unto my
commandments which I command you this
day,

14. to love the LORD your God, and to serve
him with all your heart and with all your
soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land
in his due season, the first rain and the latter
rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn,
and thy wine, and thine oil.
1Sam 8:14
And he will take your fields, and your
vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the
best of them, and give them to his servants.
IV. The Servant and the Sovereign- 1Kgs 21:3
3And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid
it me, that I should give the inheritance of my
fathers unto thee.
Isa 5:3-5; Ezek 34:2-3; Ezek 46:18
Isa 5:3

15. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt
me and my vineyard.
Isa 5:4-5
4 What could have been done more to my
vineyard, that I have not done in it?
wherefore, when I looked that it should
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild
grapes?
5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will
do to my vineyard: I will take away the
hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up;
and break down the wall thereof, and it shall
be trodden down:
Ezek 34:2-3
2 Son of man, prophesy against the
shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the
shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of

16. Israel that do feed themselves! should not
the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the
wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed
not the flock.
Ezek 46:18
Moreover the prince shall not take of the
people's inheritance by oppression, to
thrust them out of their possession; but he
shall give his sons inheritance out of his
own possession:
that my people be not scattered every man
from his possession.
The problem in modern Christianity is a lack of
any Biblical stand on which a man is willing to
die.
Naboth was not only willing, but did die for the
command to not give up possession of his

17. vineyard (even if the king made him a good
offer).
I understand the sentiment of the statement; “If
persecution comes to the American Church, I
hope I’m strong enough to hold firm to my
faith”.
The problem with that is it already makes
excuse for failure.
There are about 4,000 commands in the Bible.
Every Christian should have at least a dozen on
which he will earnestly contend to the death.
Get a vineyard,
maintain it and
if need be, die for it.
A Justified Rebellion Against A Rebel
Text: 1Kgs 21:1-3
I. The Farmer and the Furlough- 1Kgs 21:1
“had a vineyard”- 1Kgs 21:1
 Some of Jesus Christ’s parables concern vineyards.

18. Nu 22:24; Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1
 Vineyards were associated with a settled, peaceful life.
Deut 6:10-11; Neh 9:25; Ezek 28:26
 Vineyards were important for agriculture.
Deut 20:6; Judg 14:5; 2Kgs 25:11-12;
 Vineyards were a sign of wealth.
1Sam 22:7; 2Kgs 5:26; Eccl 2:4
 Warnings about vineyards
Job 24:6; Song 2:15; Jer 12:10;
II. The Inventor and the Employee- 1Kgs 21:2
III. Commerce and Consecration- 1Kgs 21:2
Lev 25:23; Deut 11:10-14; 1Sam 8:14
IV. A Servant and the Sovereign- 1Kgs 21:3
Isa 5:3-5; Ezek 34:2-3; Ezek 46:18